Holly cow, Ashley. You just gave me a million dollar idea! Seriously, I live across the country from you and we have quite few wineries within 50 miles from us. And we visit them a lot. I wonder why😂😂😂. But none of them carry candles. I mean, none. They could be carrying mine.
I get comments on how my booth looks at every event. It's eye catching and I pride myself on being different than everyone else. It's a complete representation of myself and my brand. You've really nailed it there 👏 👌
Pros: bringing friends/family who have experiences that have changed my business! My husband is an extrovert and has refined our "community partnership" (people we do business with/people who are regularly downtown knowing us as the brand) and finding out my friend works in e commerce and has a love for business numbers so he has shown me a lot of how to price myself and so much more! The only con is saying yes to too many foreign markets ahead of time; one of the most prominent craft show hosts here are friends with select vendors and allow MLM so it was rough when I had paid well in advance for 3 or 4 shows without realizing that could be problematic (my first show I was put outside a bathroom which felt personal but strangely helped my sales)
I’m here for the felt personal but helped my sales! It always feels so personal (and sometimes it is). I love this and hope this year is off to a great start for you!
Spot on about markets. I feel the same way when I decline to do a market for specific reasons/values, but then I see my peers posting at the event I wonder if I made the right decision. Often I did! They are only showing the highlights. I’ve learned to stay out of the socials on those days so I miss a lot of it. Also standing firm on saying no when being invited to pop up at wholesale clients stores etc. if I do. I’ll pick a very small window and lean into my current customer list telling them to stop by and treating it like a local pickup (I’m home based)
Thank you for your continued efforts in providing helpful content to other makers! :) I feel like I always come away with a new perspective or idea after listening to you. Your set up and displays are amazing! Markets have been a key to the growth of my business & finding out which ones are the right fit can take some time. I’ve had to say no to ones I was not feeling this year. Private label is something that I haven’t ventured into. I feel like an artist would not paint a picture and then allow someone else to take credit for it and what we do is an art. I guess it comes down to money & what you are willing to sacrifice to see growth. I have started creating specialty candles for small businesses with my logo and their business name on the label and that has been a fun collaboration. It seems to benefit both parties. Pros- strategically scheduled markets and consistently showing up to new places and trying new things. Cons- For the markets I honestly can’t think of any other than back-to-back markets are exhausting and not something I will do often. Thanks again for sharing your experiences and best of luck to you in 2024!
Hi Ashley. Thanks for sharing! You are always so encouraging! I would like to get a copy of your packing list(s). Thanks so much!
You are so welcome!
Holly cow, Ashley. You just gave me a million dollar idea! Seriously, I live across the country from you and we have quite few wineries within 50 miles from us. And we visit them a lot. I wonder why😂😂😂. But none of them carry candles. I mean, none. They could be carrying mine.
Go get it!!! That’s a great idea!
I get comments on how my booth looks at every event. It's eye catching and I pride myself on being different than everyone else. It's a complete representation of myself and my brand. You've really nailed it there 👏 👌
That’s amazing! I’d love to see it!
Pros: bringing friends/family who have experiences that have changed my business! My husband is an extrovert and has refined our "community partnership" (people we do business with/people who are regularly downtown knowing us as the brand) and finding out my friend works in e commerce and has a love for business numbers so he has shown me a lot of how to price myself and so much more! The only con is saying yes to too many foreign markets ahead of time; one of the most prominent craft show hosts here are friends with select vendors and allow MLM so it was rough when I had paid well in advance for 3 or 4 shows without realizing that could be problematic (my first show I was put outside a bathroom which felt personal but strangely helped my sales)
I’m here for the felt personal but helped my sales! It always feels so personal (and sometimes it is). I love this and hope this year is off to a great start for you!
Spot on about markets. I feel the same way when I decline to do a market for specific reasons/values, but then I see my peers posting at the event I wonder if I made the right decision. Often I did! They are only showing the highlights. I’ve learned to stay out of the socials on those days so I miss a lot of it. Also standing firm on saying no when being invited to pop up at wholesale clients stores etc. if I do. I’ll pick a very small window and lean into my current customer list telling them to stop by and treating it like a local pickup (I’m home based)
I love this focus! Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you for your continued efforts in providing helpful content to other makers! :) I feel like I always come away with a new perspective or idea after listening to you. Your set up and displays are amazing!
Markets have been a key to the growth of my business & finding out which ones are the right fit can take some time. I’ve had to say no to ones I was not feeling this year.
Private label is something that I haven’t ventured into. I feel like an artist would not paint a picture and then allow someone else to take credit for it and what we do is an art. I guess it comes down to money & what you are willing to sacrifice to see growth. I have started creating specialty candles for small businesses with my logo and their business name on the label and that has been a fun collaboration. It seems to benefit both parties.
Pros- strategically scheduled markets and consistently showing up to new places and trying new things.
Cons- For the markets I honestly can’t think of any other than back-to-back markets are exhausting and not something I will do often.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences and best of luck to you in 2024!
These are great takeaways! Thanks for sharing now we need to circle back at the end of this year and see how far we’ve come! Good luck to you!!!
What is upside?
My business
I do a lot of private label orders. Private label is great because the re-orders are pretty consistent. Let me know if you ever want to chat about it!
I appreciate this! I’d love to connect as I have questions on how you stay firm with order minimums! Any insight?